Dental cleaning device.



G. B. HAKINS. DENTAL CLEANING DEVICE.

APPLIGATION FILED H AY 27, 1910.

1- 7 59 v Patented Jan. 9, 1912,

NITD STAT N' FREE.

DENTAL CLEANING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 9, 1912.

Original application filed March 26, 1908, Serial No. 423,432. Dividedand this application filed May 27, 1910. Serial No. 563,790.

To all 'zr/wm it may concern Be it known that I, Grouse B. I-lAKINs,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Norwood, iu the county ofSt. Lawrence and .btate of New York, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Dental Cleaning Devices, of which the following is aspecification. v

This application is a division and continuation of one filed by me,Serial No.

This invention pertains to certain new and useful improvements in dentalcleaning devices, and has for its object to provide a simple, co1npact,efiicient and practicable device which includes sponge rubber as thecleaning medium.

Sponge rubber is possessed of certain peculiar characteristics whichespecially adapt it'for cleaning purposes of which may be cited itsextremely sott properties, which permit it, though driven at a high rateof speed, to come into contact with the gum or related parts of themouth without perceptible pain or the slightest injury to the patient.Again its cleaning value is of high order and due to its great degree ofcompressibility it may, with. comparatively slight pressure be broughtto enter in the space between the teeth and at the juncture of the teethwith the gums to an extent impossible with the usual and well known hardrubber disks, or similar devices.

In the drawings-Figure 1, is a side elevation of the invention, partlyin section, showing the manner of use in cleaning the teeth, Figv 2, isa similar view showing the means for securing the sponge rubber insection, and Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing. the mode otassemblageprior to the parts being brought to normal position.

The drawings illustrate the invention as applied to the well knownmandrel rotating means or cl uck of a dental engine, the mandrel 1,having its chuck engaging end of any desired type. Secured to the frontend of the mandrel in suitable rigid relation is a small disk 2, of adiameter slightly greater than that ot'l'he mandrel. I

3 designates the mass or bodyofvspongc rubber, which may be cut orsubsequently trimmed by the operator to meet certain conditions orrequirei'nents governed by the contemplated use, the body, in theprocess of seeurement, being penetrated by the shank of disk 2, shownmore clearly in Fig.

3, and being firmly clamped between the rear face of the latter and theinner face of a cup-shaped member4. This member l is formed with asleeve 5, and a curved body G of bowl-shape. or cup-form, there being aspace between the disk and the inner face of the body 6 in which thesponge rubber projects so as to be clamped. It will be noted that theouter peripheral end of body or cup Sprojects comparatively for quite adistance beyond the disk 2, the purpose of which is to provide a bed orcompression chamber whereby when the mass of sponge rubber is brought tobear with great pres- 7O sure on the teeth, that portion of the spongerubber in the cup will have certain limitations of movement prescribedby the bounding wall of the cup and as a consequence the sponge rubberwill not be permitted to expand but will be compressed within the cup,thus afiording firm though resilient bed for. that portion of the spongerubber with: out the cup. As the d "awings clearly manitest, theexpansive properties of the rubber willcause it to extend beyond theperipheral edge of the cup, thus protecting the parts being treated.against contact with the hard substance of which the cup is made.

In order to immovably relate sleeve 5 to mandrel 1, I form a recess 7,in the latter in which projects a struckout portion 8 of the sleeve.

It may be mentioned that a further contemplated use to which theinvention is put,

is that of cleaning and polishing finger, nails.

What I claim is:

1. In a cleaning device, a mandrel haveing a rigid enlarged part: on itsfree end, a cup-shaped element carried by the mandrel, a mass ofsponge-rubber in the cupshapcd element, said mandrel being passedthrough said mass of sponge-rubber to cause the latter to be clamped incompressed stat-e v between said-enlarged part of the mandrel and thebase of the cup-shaped element whereby the outer portions of the pqassofsponge-rubber will, due vto the expansive properties thereot, projectbeyond the free end of the cu 'rshaped element.

2. In a cleaning device, a mandrel having a rigid enlarged part on itsfree end, a cup-shaped element carried by the mandrel,

a mass of sponge-rubber in the cup-shaped 1,10

element, said mandrel being passed through said mass of spon 'e-rubberto cause the latter to be clampe in compressed state be- 0 element andsurrounding the mandrel, said sleeve being formed with a struck-out partwhich projects in a recess provided therefor in the mandrel. tween saidenlarged part of the mandrel and In testimony whereof I hsve hereuntoset my hand in presence of two subscribing wit- 15 IIBSSBS.

GEORGE E. HAKINS. Witnesses I. P. VANOE,. H. W. TURNER.

